“Sorry.” He mumbled quietly as he heard her chair scrape back in.
“It’s okay. You just gave me a fright. No harm done,” she spoke quietly to him and he let out a relieved breath as he inclined his head.
“No, it’s not like I can see anything.”
Amy turned to him, surprised at his sad tone.
“That’s not what I meant Paul and you know it. I really was scared. You try being attacked from behind by a big bloke when you least expect it. It’s a bit of an eye opener.”
Paul was quiet a moment and then he spoke again.
“Yes, I know exactly what you mean. Though at least I wasn’t naked at the time.” He stared out sightlessly across the table.
She looked up at him quizzically and then her breath caught in her throat as she realized that he was remembering how he lost his sight. She already knew exactly what had happened to him, she had read all the files after all.
The fork which had been halfway to her lips clattered back to the plate.
“Oh God!” She spoke in a shocked whisper as she fumbled to pick up her fork again. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”
Paul suddenly turned his head and grinned at her as he interrupted.
“Don’t be daft woman. You have nothing to be sorry for. Well, maybe the ringing in my ears is your fault. You have a real set of lungs on you.” He stuck his finger in his ear and waggled it about. “Just as well all the rooms are soundproofed. You would have had all this lot getting an eyeful too if they hadn’t been. I expect that they would have thought I was murdering you.” He gestured around the table.
Amy gulped and took a sip of wine before asking him the obvious question.
“Why have the rooms been soundproofed?”
Paul lifted his head and let out a deep breath.
“Dreams or rather nightmares. We all suffer from them from time to time as you can imagine. Most of the guests here have either their partner or an assistant with them so it’s mostly okay, but Ellen didn’t want anyone suffering a nightmare waking the rest of the guests. She fitted an emergency contact system that is available in every room if the guests need help but most of us just live through them.”
Amy looked around the table at the men chatting happily with their wives and children. Patrick played aeroplanes as he attempted to induce Rose to try some of the salad he had served with the lasagne. David was encouraging the toddler at his side to use her own spoon to scoop up the pasta rather than reaching out and grabbing his hand as her father tried to put his own dinner in his mouth. Joe held baby Anna in the crook of his arm and gazed at her adoringly as he concentrated on giving her a bottle while his own food went cold on the plate in front of him. Lucy eventually picked up his plate and put it back on the stove. Joe didn’t even seem to notice and Lucy rolled her eyes dramatically and grinned at Amy.
Everything looked so normal, so incredibly normal that she felt as though she was in an alternate universe. These men had lost so much but it looked as though they had gained a lot more.
She turned back to Paul and spoke quietly.
“Why didn’t you suggest coming here in the first place? You could have avoided being chucked out of your home and all that court stuff too.”
Paul wiped the lasagne sauce from his lips and sighed deeply.
“I don’t expect you to understand Amy, I may have lost my sight but I haven’t lost my pride. These people would do anything for me, I know that but they shouldn’t have to. I wouldn’t even be here now if this new rehab centre wasn’t a real possibility. I’m used to working hard. I can’t just sit about on my arse with nothing to do until I reach my dotage. I’m only thirty-four. I could have another fifty or even sixty years left in me. At the moment I’m fit and healthy and this sightless thing shouldn’t be something to hold me back. It’s only other people who see it as a disability, not me.” He paused and then smirked wildly, his delicious lips quirking up temptingly at the corners. “Well, apart from earlier on today. It was a definite disadvantage then.” He popped another fork full of lasagne into his mouth.
There was a high pitched giggle from Paul’s other side and Robbie leaned round his shoulder to stare wide eyed at Amy.
“He’s saying he wouldn’t have minded seeing you naked, that’s what he really means Amy,” a grinning Robbie stated the obvious to the whole table and everyone, including Amy burst out laughing.
Paul flushed a violent shade of red. He waved down the good-natured laughter.
“Okay, okay, so I’ve been busted. Thank you very much for that Robbie. You just wait until you are seventeen,” he whispered as an aside to the boy. “So I like naked women. It’s nothing to be ashamed of but I would prefer them to want me to see them rather than screaming the house down. I felt like a peeping tom without the peeping bit,” he admonished himself as he reached across the table with his free hand, his fingers searching for something until Amy realized what he was doing and put her arm within his reach. He touched her forearm arm and then squeezed it reassuringly. However much he resented her being here he didn’t want her to think he was making a joke out of himself at her expense.
The conversation at the table turned to the new centre. Amy was fascinated by what they were attempting to do. Some injured servicemen didn’t adjust well to their new way of life and the centre was going to play an integral part in their acceptance of their circumstances.
There were going to be combined courses and seminars helping those affected come to terms not only with their limitations but also their new potential. As every single case was different there would be no set time limit on how long people needed to adjust. As one person left another place could be given. Ongoing care and support would be vital. At the end of their stay the client would be put onto the register of hotel guests to be invited for a few days at least once a year.
David had discovered a beautiful but run down château right on the coast near Roscoff. It was only a couple of miles from the ferry port to England and the area was perfect for fishing, sailing or rowing, along with walking or even just taking in the peace and tranquillity of the area. He suggested that they all visit the château the next day. He wanted Paul to have a say in the choice. He was going to be the one running the place with Joe taking responsibility as their co-ordinator for the activities.
If they all thought the place would work then he was going to suggest that their guests arriving later in the week could help with the refurbishment. He had spoken to the Maire of Roscoff and the paperwork was already in place if Paul thought the château would be suitable.
Ellen had let David take over this venture. When she had chosen their château for the hotel she had a different set of criteria in mind. Luxury in addition to peace of mind and complete freedom for her guests. This new enterprise would need practical space, facilities and plenty of treatment rooms in addition to the luxury she felt all of their clients deserved. They would need psychiatric and as well as physical carers and she was already compiling a list of people they would need to employ.
Amy was as caught up in the conversation as anyone around the table. She had been a nurse prior to becoming a social worker, retraining after she had seen how nursing care was just a beginning for most of the people she saw. Aftercare was vital to a patient’s progress.
The conversation continued throughout their delicious dinner but the last few minutes were taken up with groans of delight as Patrick served up warm, sticky meringues smothered in cream. Amy was incredulous that he had whipped them up and cooked them while everyone else had been preparing for dinner.
Robbie walked around the table proudly placing one fresh, wild strawberry that he had found growing at the edge of the forest on top of each pile of cream and then looked a little crest fallen when he discovered that he was one of the tiny red fruit short. He hadn’t known that Amy would be arriving for dinner too. He looked longingly at the last one he had plopped onto Paul’s dessert but sat down resolutely.
Paul was about to po
p his strawberry in his mouth when he heard Robbie sigh with deep regret at his side. Immediately guessing what the problem might be, he reached out with his hand and found the boy’s bowl. He tipped his own plump strawberry onto Robbie’s meringue and was rewarded with a sticky kiss of thanks on his cheek.
Robbie leaned up further and whispered into his ear.
“I should have given you two strawberries and then you could have given Amy yours as well. She might have kissed you too then.”
Paul let out a laugh and reached up to ruffle the boy’s hair.
“Shhh Robbie… I don’t want to embarrass her any more. She’s sort of in charge of me for the next month and I need to make a good impression or she is going to take me back to England,” he whispered back.
Robbie frowned as he peered around Paul to look more critically at Amy. He leaned back in his chair after making his assessment and then whispered to Paul again.
“Are you sure she’s in charge of you? She’s not very big or anything. I think you are at least twice her size, though her chest is more sticky outy than mama’s. Her eyes are a nice green colour too. They are the same colour as the frog I found when Joe and Lucy were married. Do you remember Paul? It was a lovely bright green and it was hopping along the path near the church. You said you liked the colour when the frog jumped out of my hand and landed on Lucy’s white dress. I think you said it was a good con… cont… contrast.” Paul stifled a loud guffaw as he listened to Robbie’s vivid description of the incident of the escaped frog on Lucy and Joe’s memorable wedding day. “She has hair like sunshine, yellow and all pretty and wavy and she has some freckles on her nose too. She doesn’t look mean or anything.” Robbie finished his assessment of Amy’s attributes.
Paul gulped as the woman beside him suddenly leapt to life in his mind. Beautiful blonde hair, bright green eyes, a smattering of freckles and a figure to die for. He swallowed quickly and dug his spoon into the meringue, then spent the next few seconds chewing the toffee texture as he listened to Amy talking to Ellen on her other side.
Her voice was gentle and he wondered about the singing again. She had obviously been singing in the bath when he had heard her earlier. His mind wandered to how her silky shoulders had felt in the few seconds contact he had had with her naked skin and suddenly his heart began to pound furiously inside his chest. He could smell her perfume again now that the garlicky lasagne had been removed from the table. Her scent seemed to mix with the delicate perfume of fresh strawberries and sugary meringue, creating the image of the most delicious dessert he had ever wanted to taste.
He gulped back the passion that suddenly threatened to overpower him as his brain filled with visions of Amy covered in cream and meringue with him kneeling at her feet licking the sugary, creamy confection from every inch of her delicate skin.
He gulped before he took a last bite of the meringue and then quickly pushed his plate away. He cleared his throat.
“Does anyone mind if I get an early night? I haven’t been sleeping well lately and that bed upstairs is beckoning furiously,” his voice sounded almost strangled and he pushed his chair back from the table without waiting for a response.
Patrick looked up from his own dessert and answered immediately.
“No, of course not. Don’t forget that Ellen and I are in our cottage and Lucy and Joe are at the river houses, but David will be here in his suite on the top floor. If you need anything in the night just help yourself or buzz one of us. Oh, and don’t forget, your bathroom is on the left of your bed, not the right.” There was a general chuckle around the table, then everyone bid him a good night and Paul strode out across the kitchen back towards his bedroom.
Amy watched him leave. When the door closed behind him she turned back to the table.
“Aren’t any of you worried he’s going to hurt himself or get lost? He could walk into a wall or fall down the stairs or anything.”
Joe looked at her and shook his head.
“He’ll be fine. He would have counted the route here and taken care to note the number of doors he passed. He only needs to do it once and I’d not be surprised if he remembered a lot of it from when he first came here anyway. We all put the hotel to the test before Ellen opened it years ago. He hadn’t been fitted with the bionics then. He became lost that many times on his first day that he spent the whole of the following one just pacing the place out, and he was here again when Lucy and I were married. Not much has changed since then. I daresay he remembers it all pretty well.”
Amy was momentarily surprised at his apparent lack of concern but then she noticed Ellen looking anxiously at Patrick. Her husband gave a tiny frown and then a small nod. Ellen turned to Amy.
“Actually we are all very worried about Paul but that doesn’t mean we are going to interfere. He needs to get his pride back. We can’t all go chasing after him every time he merely leaves a room. After all, anyone could fall down the stairs at any time. Just because he’s blind doesn’t mean he’s going to do it more often than the rest of us.”
Amy nodded.
“I guess you’re right. He’s just so stubborn though. He doesn’t use his cane most of the time and he wouldn’t even ask for help when he really needed it. He was living rough for goodness sake, breaking into people’s sheds and garages when he could have been living safely in sheltered accommodation.” She was clearly angry with the obstinate man.
Ellen spoke again.
“But he doesn’t need sheltered accommodation Amy and being safe isn’t really an issue with guys like him. He’s way more intelligent than most of us here and he’s as fit as a fiddle. You should see his combat skills too. He’s trained in martial arts and all sorts of hand to hand combat. What was he supposed to do? Go and sit with the grannies and do the crossword for the rest of his life just in case he bumped into a door frame or tripped up a step? He’s used to living with danger, all of it a lot worse than anything an ordinary person would ever experience. Sheltered accommodation would have been as bad as prison. Patrick would have gone up the wall if anyone had tried to do that with him and David would have rather jumped off a cliff.”
David broke the tension as he laughed loudly.
“Actually I still do jump off a cliff. Nearly every day in fact. I can show you the zip wire tomorrow if you like. I bet Paul will want a go anyway. He loved it the last time he was here,” he spoke like an excited child. Ellen rolled her eyes in exasperation as Joe and Patrick nodded enthusiastically and immediately began discussing the wire tension and speed of descent. She could never fathom how the zip wire from the top of the ravine always made her brother and his friends act like ten year olds.
Patrick grinned over to her.
“Sorry, but we just can’t help it. And it’s not just zip wires. I’m going to organize a competition for us all tomorrow. I need to brush up on my own skills. I retired years ago and could do with a bit of a push… What about knife throwing? Can you set us up a target Joe?”
Amy laughed and held up her hands in defeat as Joe nodded immediately.
“Alright, I get it. You lot are adrenaline junkies. Well okay, I will have to just go along with it but I do have to make a report on Paul’s progress. That’s part of my job. If I think he’s going over the top or making rash decisions I will have to say, so make sure he is facing the right direction if he’s going to be throwing any sharp metal about.”
Joe grunted.
“We’ll be lucky if we even get a look in on that. Paul’s an expert. Even blind I’ve never seen him miss his target.”
Robbie leaned across Paul’s vacated chair and tugged on her sleeve. She looked down into the boy’s bright eyes. His expression was fierce and almost a little angry.
“You’re not going to take him back and put him in prison are you Amy? ‘Cos he won’t like you if you do that and neither will I. We need some more men around here. I am fed up with girls all the time.” His cherub lips pouted determinedly
Amy smiled down at him and tried t
o sound reassuring.
“I don’t think I will be taking him home Robbie. I certainly don’t want to and I would never put him in prison but I have to make sure that he’s safe okay? What about if you help me do that?” She gazed into the little boy’s eyes and suddenly realized the enormity of what she was doing. If Paul made a success out of these next few weeks then she would be cutting herself off from the man she loved. She would be the one going home alone. There was no way she could see him fail at this opportunity but when he succeeded he was going to remain in France, happy and secure with his friends while she was going to lose him forever.
Chapter Four
“This is incredible!” Amy stared up at the beautiful ivy clad château that sat overlooking the rolling sea just outside Roscoff. “How could anyone let something this fabulous go to ruin?” A flock of birds suddenly flapped away from one of the roof turrets.
David raised his eyebrows and looked about at the drooping shutters and foliage smothered walls. Rampant weeds littered the long, sweeping drive and windblown sand had drifted into small dunes along the pathways.
“Quite easily I would imagine knowing how much château cost to keep up. This one is in not too bad condition considering its exposed location so the start-up costs won’t be quite as high but there’s still a fair bit to do. At least the roof was overhauled fairly recently and just needs a few slates readjusting to stop any further damage so that will be a huge saving. What do you think of it overall Paul?”
Paul looked startled for a moment, as though surprised that David had asked for his opinion but then he turned towards the sea and breathed in the salty air.
“The location is fabulous. Did you say that there is a jetty just opposite?”
David confirmed the location of a small concrete construction that led out into the bay.
“Yes, I was hoping we could offer sailing lessons and fishing. Nothing quite like catching your own dinner.”
Scarred Horizon (Scarred Series Book 4) Page 4
